Zocket Wins Accenture Tech Next Challenge 2026 With AI That Finally Understands the Brand

Starbucks Korea has launched a customer-participation campaign to donate up to 1 million cups of coffee to people and communities in need. Under the “My Star Coffee” campaign, for every cup of Today’s Coffee purchased at Starbucks stores nationwide on Mondays, beginning Sept. 28, the company will donate an equivalent amount of coffee. The campaign is based on the idea of giving a cup of coffee to a personal “star” — someone who has offered quiet support and encouragement. For every cup of brewed coffee purchased by a customer, Starbucks will donate one additional cup of coffee to people and communities in need, allowing customers and the company to jointly build up the donations. The accumulated cups of “My Star Coffee” will be delivered to people serving local communities, welfare facilities, disaster and emergency sites, farms and other places in need. Starbucks said the initiative is intended to allow customers to take part in sharing activities through everyday coffee purchases, while extending support to people who contribute to their communities. The company’s mobi

Workers from Korea’s agricultural, livestock, fishery and forestry industries on Monday jointly launched an emergency committee to oppose the government’s potential entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). They argued that joining the trade pact would increase imports into Korea, threatening their market share and livelihoods. The launch of the CPTPP Task Force came as the government has yet to announce whether it will join the pact, which has been ratified by 12 countries, including Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Vietnam. In June, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources denied a local media report that the government had decided to join the pact, saying it would “carefully consider joining the CPTPP, taking into account stakeholders’ views as well as domestic and external conditions.” Early last month, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the government would review the possibility of joining the pact. Later that month, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said at a meeting of ministers of in

HiteJinro is bringing its snack trucks to fire stations across the country to provide meals, snacks and encouragement to firefighters working through fire and disaster response efforts. According to the company, it began the second half of this year’s program with a visit to Gwangjin District’s fire station in Seoul Sept. 2 and plans to visit four more stations in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, Busan and South Gyeongsang Province until the end of next month. The annual program brings snack trucks to fire stations providing meals, snacks and beverages to firefighters. “We prepared the second-half program to provide some encouragement to firefighters working in extreme heat and at disaster sites,” a company official said. “We will continue supporting firefighters for their efforts to protect public safety.” HiteJinro has been running the program annually since 2020, after signing a memorandum of understanding with the National Fire Agency (NFA) in 2018 to improve support for firefighters and raise public awareness of safety. This year, the company plans to visit a total of 17

KB Kookmin Bank and SAP Korea are joining forces to weave banking services directly into corporate software, betting that businesses will increasingly handle payments and cash management without leaving their enterprise systems. SAP Korea said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with KB Kookmin Bank on Friday to develop software-as-a-service (SaaS) products and next-generation corporate banking services. The partnership will focus on three areas, including developing new SaaS products based on SAP Business Technology Platform by integrating third-party solutions and offering them under white-label arrangements. The companies also plan to connect enterprise resource planning systems with banking services so corporate customers can access financial services without separate procedures, an approach known as “invisible banking.” They will also pursue joint go-to-market strategies, using their infrastructure and sales networks to identify corporate customers and expand their services. SAP Korea and KB Kookmin Bank said they intend to build an embedded finance ecosystem that

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics captured the top billing across half of eight home appliance categories in a new analysis of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated product recommendations, while specialized niche brands claimed the lead in the remaining four segments. AIBIX lab said Monday that it analyzed responses from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude to measure the AI Brand Competitiveness Index (AIBIX) across 182 brands. Samsung and LG led categories including washing machines, dryers, air purifiers and cordless vacuum cleaners, while Coway, Roborock, Sony and Minix topped rental water purifiers, robot vacuum cleaners, wireless earphones and headphones, and food waste processors, respectively. LG scored 82.6 points in washing machines, 14 points ahead of Samsung, and 74.5 points in dryers, 6.4 points ahead of Samsung. Samsung narrowly led LG in air purifiers, 72.3 points to 70.8, while the two companies tied at 69.5 points in cordless vacuum cleaners. Coway scored 82.2 points in rental water purifiers, while Roborock scored 79.2 points in robot vacuum cleaners, leading Ec

Tech firm RLWRLD and supply chain giant CJ Logistics are joining forces to build smarter warehouse robots capable of handling the messy realities of modern logistics, with plans to eventually export their physical artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to overseas markets. RLWRLD said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with CJ Logistics to jointly develop logistics-focused Robotics Foundation Model (RFM) technology and pursue commercialization from Korean operations to global markets. Under the agreement, the companies will select logistics processes for initial RFM deployment and conduct proof-of-concept tests to verify core robotic movements in real working environments. They plan to expand the range of applications and improve technical performance based on those tests, with a longer-term goal of commercializing Logistics as a Service, or LaaS. CJ Logistics has been expanding the use of physical AI in logistics operations, including deploying AI humanoid robots in actual workflows, according to RLWRLD. Logistics facilities present a particularly demanding environmen

Korean tobacco and consumer goods company KT&G was named the grand prize winner at the 2026 Korea IR Awards, securing the top accolade presented by the Korea Exchange’s investor relations service, the company said Monday. The award, presented as the Korea Exchange chairman's prize, was handed out Friday at KRX Market Square in Seoul's Yeouido financial district. Yoon Young-chan, head of KT&G's strategic planning division, accepted the award from Korea Exchange Chairman Chung Eun-bo. The Korea IR Service has handed out the awards since 2001 to companies recognized for active, efficient investor relations work that supports capital-market development through shareholder-focused management. KT&G was cited for an "open IR culture" in which executives present strategy directly to investors — on global business expansion, shareholder returns and growth investment — and fold investor feedback into management decisions, along with regular investor conferences, non-deal road shows and meetings with major domestic and international institutional investors. The company raised its interim divi

Audi has officially crossed the 300,000-vehicle sales mark in Korea, cementing its position as one of the country's most popular foreign luxury automakers. The German brand said Monday that cumulative registrations reached the milestone, making Audi only the third imported carmaker to achieve the feat in the Korean market. To mark the achievement, Audi Korea is launching a customer-appreciation program, called thAnk Q, with its nationwide dealer network, offering benefits and brand experiences as a way to thank its customers, the company said. Audi Korea attributed the growth partly to customer-engagement programs it has run this year, including Audi Open House, where customers can test-drive various models and services; Audi Venture, an outdoor lifestyle program; and Audi Summer Tour, a driving and lifestyle experience event. "Reaching 300,000 cumulative registrations here is a meaningful achievement made possible by the trust and support of the customers who have chosen Audi," Audi Korea President Steve Cloete said. "We will continue to strengthen customer satisfaction and long-term tru

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) does not take Washington’s threat to bar Chairman Ju Biung-ghi from entering the United States seriously, brushing off escalating U.S. pressure over the watchdog’s regulatory crackdown on U.S.-listed Coupang, the head of the authority said Monday. “We will not be swayed by this, but will continue law enforcement in a nondiscriminatory manner,” Ju told reporters during a press conference in Sejong, referring to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s recent moves targeting alleged discrimination against U.S. companies. Ju’s comments come as the Coupang dispute has grown into a bigger source of tension in Korea-U.S. economic relations. The U.S. committee issued a report in July accusing Korean authorities of discriminatory treatment of Coupang, arguing that the company had been subjected to excessive investigations and penalties. A U.S. lawmaker subsequently introduced legislation that would restrict U.S. entry to foreign officials accused of using government authority to discriminate against American companies, explicitly citing the Coupang case a

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) has begun construction on Korea's first data center built exclusively for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, the company said Monday, aiming to finish the project in a record 16.5 months. Hyundai E&C signed the main contract with AI Factory Pohang PFV, the project's special-purpose vehicle, and has started installing precast concrete — factory-made concrete components assembled on site, rather than poured in place — for the facility in Pohang's Gwangmyeong general industrial complex. Construction began in June, with operations targeted for the second half of 2027. The 40-megawatt facility will run on Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) and use liquid cooling, a system that circulates coolant directly to chips rather than relying on airflow, to handle the intense heat generated by AI servers — a first for a Korean data center, the company said. It is designed to run at roughly 10 times the power density of a typical cloud data center to accommodate Nvidia's upcoming "Vera Rubin" AI chips, with a power usage effectiveness rating —

Korean steelmakers are cautiously hopeful that voluntary production cuts by about 45 Chinese mills could ease the oversupply and price pressure that have squeezed their margins, although the impact will depend on how deeply and consistently output is reduced. “Reducing inventories and cutting production is certainly welcome and positive for the Korean steel industry,” an industry official said. “If China were to make a drastic cut of 200 million or 300 million tons, I think it would have a very positive effect on steelmakers around the world, including those in Korea.” The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) recently called on about 45 steelmakers, including China Baowu Group, Ansteel Group, HBIS Group and Shougang Group, to adjust production and inventories based on actual orders and profitability rather than maintaining full production despite weak demand. The move comes as weak property and construction demand has left Chinese mills with high inventories and deteriorating profitability. China’s crude steel output fell 3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, whil

Korea Zinc, the world's largest refined zinc smelter, said on Monday that its $7.4 billion U.S. manufacturing project has cleared an environmental impact assessment. The approval is expected to accelerate the company's plan to build a critical metals refinery in Clarksville, Tennessee, under the project name "Project Crucible," the company said in a press release. The facility is scheduled to begin test operations in 2029 and commercial production of 11 core minerals, 12 nonferrous metals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid the following year. Project Crucible is the first "FAST-41" project approved by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council since Korea Zinc signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Tennessee in May, the company said. "With Project Crucible now designated as a FAST-41 project, we are accelerating critical infrastructure development and improving government efficiency to move this project forward without unnecessary delays," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said. In April, Korea Zinc said it had completed the acquisition of a local zinc smelter and other